New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1887-05-11
TO LIFT STATE BURDENS.
HOW TIE vEDDER BILL WOULD OPERATE.

AND THE CONSEQUENT hEpOCiioS VI 'AAA-
TON.
ALBANY. May 1O.--Senator Low, in bis speech in
favor of the Vedder Liquor Tax BILL said that ID MS
onipion If the measure became law II would bring
between S3,O0O,000 end $i,O00,OOO annually into
the State Treasury. The success OF Mr. Low IN Vass
financial operations and bis quarter OF ceu'o't -
orner;snce as legislator naturally made the Senate
accent as of great weight his Judgment on suon
matter as that Of determining the probaDe amount VI
;ncome the State would derive from the operation Of
tax law like that presented oy senator nSID,r
Yet there is solid ground upon which TO Duid an
estimate and Senator Low. living as he has for many
wars past most OF the year In NewYork undor bedly
had knowledge Of it when he gave his opinion
This solid ground is the amount oil money receiVea
nv the Metropolitan Board OF Excise, winch issueu
license. for the cities OF NewYork and Brooklyn ana
adjacent towns, in the years 1866, 1857 ana lSoo
when moderately high license fee was acted nS
lcepse tee was not $3.50 anu not less IMAM 9oo
According 10 the statement oil Dorna d. I rs "
Governor Hill at the bearing on the High-Llcense
hin the first year the law was IN operation, looo
there were 5,203 liquor saloons Licensed IN new iork
aid their owners paid to the BOARD Oh EAc'se III
I,eeose fees the large sum OF S993,3|9 In brooklyn
there were 147e licensed liquor stores the same year.
which paid S257725. Total tor the two cues,
1921 1O4. The towns of the metropolitan district
BROUGHT up the total 10 8 ,2S3 S54. There was an
increase the income from the saloons IN tue
ing two years In the year 1868, for instance new
YnFE
sum of 81 IO2 271, and Brooklyn S2SS. 43o making
q total for the two cities of 81 ,390,637 The total
amount received in the Metropolitan District was
Sl447l56. One of the beneficial effects OF the law
vas to reduce the number OF places licensed IA new
York and Brooklyn from 8 720 to 1901 There Is
no question that the We lder Liquor Tax law, with It's
maximum tax of $500, would reduce the number OF
saloons in New-York and Brooklyn in even larger
proportion-the maximum tax under the Metropoh'an
Excise law having been only $3.50 Both laws womb
have the eject of high-cense laws; but the 'edder
act il clearly the BEST seeing that approaches nearer
the large excise tees demanded under hgh-iioenSe
law -
Reduced as the nun Der of saloons might be, how
ever under the Vedder BILL it is evident that S4oo
maximum tax would bring more money Into the otate
treasury than would maximum Zee OF only 500.
II under the $3.50 maximum Zee 81 lO2,Z was paid
into the treasury of New-fork City by It's Saloon
keepers what would DO the total amount they wouiu
pay to the State they should have TO pay It's TAX Oh
S4OO9 Il must be remembered, also, that the number
of Iouor stores has vastly increased In the twenty
sears that have passed between 1865 ana 1851
Governor Hill stated IN his message vetoing tue hgh-
License bill that there were now 800 licensed
saloons in New-York. In 1865 there were o,Zo3 so
that there has been an increase OF 500 IN twenty
wears II the entire number OF saloons paid the foo
that would bring to the State treasury over
S3,OCO,0o0. Naturally large proportion Oh 'ne
saloons will prefer to sell only malt liquors ana Fay
the tax OF $780, Upon a conservative estimate no"
ever the liouor stores OF New-York will pay an
amount to tho State far above the amount they PAID 10
the city OF New-York in 1865 under the S2oo Incense
fee Ii the State should receive ~, 0OO 600 from tins
source yearly Senator Vedier and his Kepublcan
associates would not be surprised
Then there comes Brooklyn, with an increase OF
liauor saloons in twenty years. In leOO they num-
bored 476 Governor Hill states IN his message that
there are now 3Ol2 OF them, an Increase oil i,oSo'
BROOKLYN paid $257727 tor liquor license fees IN
1866. How much would she LAY with the license fee
increased from $3.50 to $4C0, and with the liquor
saloons more than doubled in numberi Might not the
increase in the number OF the saloons and in tue
amount OF the tax just double the income oil @ZoI|z'
received in 1866 to $5l5,4o4f
Then there is the income that the State will derive
under the Vsdder Tax law iron the other
twenty-five cities of the State and from the hundreds
of large towns and villages Governor HILLS figures
showed that outside Of NewYork and Brooklyn there
were 1889 saloons in the cities OF the state alone
That is within 976 of the total number in Ne8-iork
Ii New York should pay 100000 under the law
it would be moderate estimate to say thar these
cities would pay $1,5O0,OOO. But even then the
tax that would be paid by the villages would not have
been Considered. Governor Hill took the pains to
ascertain what number of licenses had been issued In
twenty three villages OF the State. These were the
villages of Waikiki Fishkl Hemsead, Seneca Falls,
New -Bris hton. Flushing, Cortlandt, Port Jervis'
Ithaca Cazenovis Saugeres, HorDellsyile, Jamaica,
LYONS Coxsacke, Green Island, Catskil, Geneva
Batavia Corning Fonda, Saratoga Springs and Clean
The authorities Of these towns had issued s eenses TO
issued by the authorities OF the cities, that makes
2OS31 saloons of which the public have knowledge.
If 669 liquor stores IN New loIK aS Sa5n
when the maximum fee was only you PAID
FL 2S3 S54 in 1866, what will be the amount PAD ny
20s3l liquor stores in the state IN Iooa win "a max
Der OF saloons he taxed and the liquor tax
for large proportion OF them to the amount OF $l5O
income of between $3,000,000 and 81, 1000 900 from
Would ,%s tax the number very q qaos saloons stated
N ha State
the tar. Governor HILL only mentioned twenty
three towns but the of SCORES rise up in the
minds of persons acquitted with the State IN which
large quantities of quor must he sold An inspection
of the list of incorporated towns shows that the
Governor did not include IN bis list 3i OF such
CanaIoharie Canandagua, Goshen, Haverstraw,
EyacE. Lansingburg. Malone, New-Rochelie, White
Plains Delhi, Tsrrytown, Sing Sing Norwich, Oneida,
PALMYRA newark. Plattsburg, " ellesville and Penn
Yam were omitted 1t is obvious that the 3lI inc9r-
porated towns spoken OF will add large sum 70 me
State treasury If Senator Vedders bill becomes law
Tue longer it is looked at Therefore, and the closer
the be- are examined the more probable II seems
tbs, senator Lows estimate that the law will bring
between $4,000, 900 and $4,000 00O into the state
treasury Is correct one. Certainly the sum OF
So 100000 would seem to be a moderate estimate OF
the amount OF money that would be brought TO the
State by law, it the facts gwen above are eonsid-
Controller said II the vedder liquor tax produces
S3 $50 900 it will reduce the rate OF the State tax
Slightly over one MILL Last year the State tax Tate
A reduction Of one mill would therefore make the
State tax rate ! 95.100." The State taxation
Iiouor Tax law had been operation and had re:
duced the State taxes mill the taxpayers would
have been saved the Of So, 2246Sz OS. In other
words the OF property would have had TO pay
only Sc 2sS, 100 So in State taxes instead OF the
$9.512,s12 OF that they did pay. The estimate Is
made on the valuations OF last year which the tax
Was estimated and levied. Controller Chaplin would
have been able to reduce the taxation In every
county. The amount OF the State taxes paid and the
Of he made
In those levied II the State treasury had held
SIS, $50 900 under the Vedder law and thus beer
enabled TO reduce the tax ratio from 9o-lOJ Il
9o-lO0, is shown IN the table given below:
Total Reduc
ton of taxation
IN each county
by operation o.